The present invention relates to satellite command systems and methods, and more particularly, to a satellite command system that enables commanding of a satellite by remotely modulating telemetry data parameters indicative of the operation of one or more of the satellite's payloads.
Systems and methods for commanding in-orbit satellites from a ground station are well known in the art. During normal operation, the ground station sends commands to the satellite. The commands are received by the satellite's communication subsystems, which include a primary receiver, and are sent to the satellite's flight computer for execution. However, a failure within one or more of the satellite's communication subsystems may leave the satellite unable to receive commands from the ground station, but otherwise functional. Accordingly, there is a need for backup systems and methods for transmitting commands to the satellite, wherein the backup methods are robust to communication subsystem failures.